Ing ton



(No Model.)

A. K. HUNTINGTON & W. E. KOCH.

Y .PROCESS 0F BXTRAGTING PRECIOUS MBTALS'PROM oms. n Noi 281,074.Patented July.1L0`18f83.`

N. PETERS. Phuwutmmp'hu. wzsiunglun. D. l;

UNITED S'rirrss PATENT @einen ALFRED K. HUNTINGTON, OF IIAMISTEAD, ANDTALTER E. KOCH, OF KENSINGTON, COUNTY OF Ml'DDLESFiX, ENGLAND.

PROCESS OF EXTRACTING rPRECIOUSllNlETALS FROM GRES.

SPECIFICATIQL; frfning pari. of Letters raient No. 281,074. elated July10, isos.

Application filed Moy 3, 1883.

To ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALFRED KIRBY H'L'N'r! INGTON and VALTER EDWARDKooi-r, citi Zeus of England, residing, respectively, at ljlfumpsteadand at Kensington, both in the county of Middlesex, England, haveinvented a new and useful Process for Extracting `Precious fiietals'form Orcs, (for which we have olotained patents in Great Britain,bearing date August 11, 1882, No. 3,831; Victoria, dated September 20,1882, No. 3,308, and India, dated November 29, 1882, No. 119,) ol' whichthe following is a specification.

Our invention relates to a process ior c 2 tracting precious metals fromoros.

Vire iirstculcine the ore from which the metall is to be extracted underan oxidaiingi-lauie, so :is to drive ofi sulphur and other i mpurities;and for this purpose we operate by preierence in a rotating' furnace, soas to keep the ore in agitation while it is uiulcrgoing` calcium tion.NVhcn the ore is sufiicientlbf calcined, as We can ascertain by testingasample taken Vfrom. the furnace, we transfer it, still hot, to a panorvessel set in a iiue 4and kept heated. X'Vitliin this vessel is arevolving agitator, which keeps the culcined ore in agitation in a(li-oxidati up; atmospl 1ere, which consist s o' combustible conveyedfrom a producer by a pipe opening .into thc upper part ol' ihe pini.such w :Gitation having the effect of mechanically separating thesulphurets, the presence oi the gas preventing` the oxidation oi' theprecious metals and assisting in the removal ol sulphur. After thecaleined ore hns been thus agitated Afor a time, it is transierred,still hot, to au amalgamatiug apparatus ol' the k ind described in thespecification accompaiuying "i, i

application of date May 3, 1882, SeriahNo.

93,796, -with the present. lu this :unalgnmat ing apparatus 'the ore iscaused to ascend through molten lead orother anutlgum-.iting metalfusible at a moderate temperature, such us tin, antimony, or zinc, oralloys of' these metals.

lLn order to prevent oxidation oi the amalgamating metal, We keep theaiiinlgamuting- (No model.) lntented in England August 1l, 1382, No.3,531; in Victorin- Septenibcr 2G, 13H1 t No. 3,308, und in indiaNovember 29, ISSQ, No, lill.

'rises through the molten amalgmuating metal,

the precious metal. is dissolved out from the ore, forming a moltenamalginn, which from time to time his run oil wholly or pnrl'ly from 55the vessel, and fresh amalg-amatiir;P metal supplied in its pl ace.v Theann'dg'am is then treated by the known methods oi' cupellation anddistillation to separate the precious metal from it.

In c' 6o 'ying' ou the process which We luve Iiwrnzrious `forms andarrangnneiits of apparatus may be employed. ln the :uL-.conr pnnyingdrawingl we illustrate a convenient 't'orm and arrangement oi' apparatusi'or the 65 purpose.

In this drawing, A indicates the end oi' a rotatingi` l'urnnce in which'the calcination is effected. 'll is a spout by which, 'from time totime, portions oi' the cnlcined ore are n'itir 7o drawn from the furnaceA and introduced into nheated pan, (l, in which the orc is agitated by arevolving' agitator, under a deoxidating-V atmosphere of combustible gusconveyed to the pau by a pipe, (l, I'roni a eus-producer, li. 75 Fromthe pan U :i spout, l), conveys the material lo tbe amalganmti iig`apparnlus lil, which is constructed and operates :is described ,in thespecificai ion accompanyiu our application ol this date i'or hittersl'or u new or improved so ainn-lgamatiug apparatus. '.lhc molten amatginnnting metal used inthe vessel lil is proiectod ugainst oxidiition bysupplyingv the vrsscl utils upper purl. with combustible gas i'i'orli.biegt oflucer if". '.lhis producer muy be 85 0i' anyfikiiowiiconstruction, i'ed with carbonneeous fuel, producing combustible ons byits imperfect" combusti ion under a limited supply of air. The spent oret'roui which the precious metal has been extracted is dischnrired l'rom9o the upper part 0l' the auialgamator ,lil by a spout, and the molteninicial, when sui'liciently saturated lwith the infer-ions metal, isvfrom time to time run. oli' from 'hl bj; a pipe, ll.

Iii, testimony whereof We have signed our umuesto this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 17th day of gApril, A.D. 1883. Y

ALFRED KIRBY HUNTINGTON. ""ALTER EDWARD KOCH.

' \'\"itnesscs:

I). W. ROGERS, JN0. P. M. MILLARD.

